Vegas: Heat are title favorites in 2015

[StrengthAndHonor]

Even after an NBA Finals blowout and the status of their Big Three in limbo, the Miami Heat are the early favorites to win the NBA championship in 2015.

Pregame.com lists Miami as a 5/2 favorite to avenge its Finals loss, despite the fact LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can opt-out of their contracts next month. That’s twice as good as the next closest competitors. Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are 7/1 to win their first NBA title, the same odds Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs are getting to repeat and win their sixth. (None of Duncan’s five titles have been back-to-back.)

Four more highlights from the 2015 odds:

1. The odds for the Los Angeles Clippers (10/1) are five times better than the odds for the Los Angeles Lakers (50/1). As if that wasn’t insulting enough for Kobe and company, the Lakers odds are the same as the New York Knicks and New Orleans Pelicans.

2. The Eastern Conference teams with the best odds (after Miami) are the Indiana Pacers (15/1) and Chicago Bulls (15/1). The Washington Wizards are getting the fourth-best odds for a team in the East at 32/1.

3. Each of the 13 teams with the best odds participated in the 2014 playoffs. The most highly-regarded non-playoff teams are the Lakers, Knicks and Pelicans (50/1). The 2014 playoff teams with the worst odds are the Hawks and Hornets (both 70/1).

4. The Milwaukee Bucks are the longest shot to win the title, starting at 300/1. The Philadelphia 76ers are almost as long, going off at 225/1. The Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic are the only other teams higher than 100/1.

[IrisHockey]

5/2 isn't good value at all, no idea how Riley will fix so many issues for this Heat team.

OKC at 7/1 is worth a look, and same with Spurs at 7/1 assuming Duncan doesn't retire.

Don't fall for the Clippers at 10/1.

[Malik Hairston]

Vegas's opening lines are created with the intention of luring a certain demographic, tbh..

[IrisHockey]

certainly lured my fat ass with the Spurs at 12/1 a month after being seconds away from a championship.

[Malik Hairston]

certainly lured my fat ass with the Spurs at 12/1 a month after being seconds away from a championship.

:lol that's one of the greatest bets of all-time, tbh..

I predicted Spurs in 5 over Miami, as can be seen here, but I didn't have the fucking balls to bet on it, sadly..

[DPG21920]

:lol that's one of the greatest bets of all-time, tbh..

I predicted Spurs in 5 over Miami, as can be seen here, but I didn't have the fucking balls to bet on it, sadly..

I bet on the individual games 3 & 4...Bulls don't look too bad in a weak East. If they land a good scorer, they could be solid.

[Ghazi]

I bet the Spurs at +375 this year... if they bring the same team back I'll put $ down on them.

I'm not sure anyone can beat if they bring the same team back...

[sexinthatsx]

Umm... of course Heat will be 5/2 odds. Vegas is betting on statistics and amounts of certainty. The 5/2 odds are including the possibility that Melo might join the Heat, possibility of Duncan retiring, etc.

You're forgetting to take those facts into account..

[sexinthatsx]

Also, i can assure you that Vegas knows something that you don't. They have legitimate sources

[Bulaien999]

Rockets at 20/1 are good bet before big trades happen

[freetiago]

Miami should be the favorites tbh..
OKC will be winning the west if Spurs cant knock them out and Miami has OKCs number
will have to see if next years Spurs are capable of taking an improved OKC team

[Seventyniner]

I bet the Spurs at +375 this year... if they bring the same team back I'll put $ down on them.

I'm not sure anyone can beat if they bring the same team back...

With +375, the Spurs don't even need to be >50% favorites. You only need the Spurs to have a greater than 21% chance of winning to make money. That seems likely to me.

[InRareForm]

Don't lock up your money right now. Terrible to do so.

[RsxPiimp]

Vegas also picked the Heat as the favorites to win this year

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/04/17/vegas-odds-miami-heat-favored-to-win-third-nba-title/

:lol

[100%duncan]

Nothing new. Miami plays in the East. Nuff said tbh.

[Ghazi]

With +375, the Spurs don't even need to be >50% favorites. You only need the Spurs to have a greater than 21% chance of winning to make money. That seems likely to me.

I made that bet in April of this year... it was amazing value.

[Malik Hairston]

I made that bet in April of this year... it was amazing value.

How much did you bet?..

[Kidd K]

Yep. Miami's odds are only high because they play in the incredibly weak eastern conference. If Adam Silver released a press statement that the Miami Heat were playing a western conference schedule and were going to be put in the western conference playoff bracket, their odds would plummet right down the fuckin toilet. Trust me.

[Seventyniner]

I made that bet in April of this year... it was amazing value.

Amazing value indeed. The Spurs already had the best record at that point and were coming off a near-miss in the Finals.

[baseline bum]

Of course having a guaranteed Finals trip is going to make them the favorites.

[Blake]

Of course having a guaranteed Finals trip is going to make them the favorites.

That's a good point.

I still think I'll put $200 down on the spurs at 7-1.

[leemajors]

Yep. Miami's odds are only high because they play in the incredibly weak eastern conference. If Adam Silver released a press statement that the Miami Heat were playing a western conference schedule and were going to be put in the western conference playoff bracket, their odds would plummet right down the fuckin toilet. Trust me.

Vegas sets odds to make people bet.

[ulosturedge]

Pretty sure Vegas knows that Miami has better odds of returning to the Finals in the crappy East vs the West which has much more competition and teams are more evenly matched. I'm sure that effects the calculations. They've already mind fucked the pacers. Who else will stand in their way. Those odds seem pretty accurate to me as of now.

[Calispursfan11]

LOL, I doubt they would've even beat the 2014 Mavs this year. Eastern Conference is simply inferior and has been sliding downhill since the Beast of East days with AI and Co.